Trauma Hand-Offs: Moving Patients Through Multiple Phases and Locations of Care

Hand-off reports in hospitals have recently gained attention as a potential safety issue regarding overall patient care. This has been a particular concern in the acutely injured patient. There is a paucity of research regarding patient care hand-offs in a trauma center environment and as a result, little has been done to change this global problem. Hand-offs of trauma patients begin in the emergency department between pre-hospital providers and trauma center staff, and continue to the operating room, ICU, as well as other locations. As a result, patient assessment and critical information get lost along the way. After reviewing the literature, we have identified some important references and recommendations to improve trauma patient hand-offs.